Old Tom Trails - St Andrews
BY MURRAY BOTHWELL
6 MINS READ
Although Tom flourished as a club- and ball-maker at Prestwick, his heart would often be in St Andrews, and from time to time he returned there to play matches with his friend Colonel Fairlie. When the R&A decided to appoint a professional golfer as Custodian of the Links, following the resignation of Alexander Herd, they agreed upon an increased salary and that the entire course should be entrusted to him. Obviously, there was only one man for the job. It was with joy and gratitude that Tom accepted, and he returned to take charge of the classic links on the invitation of the Royal and Ancient Club in 1864.
His duties were quite simple: working under the Greens Committee he would keep the putting- greens in good order, repair them when necessary, and “make the holes”. For heavy work, carting, etc., he was to be “allowed assistance at the rate of one man's labour for two days in the week”. Would many Clubs be able to cope with this level of manpower these days? His tools were a barrow, a spade and a shovel. Sand, and more sand would be the watchword of the newly-appointed Caretaker, and he was paid the sum of £50 per annum and £20 for the upkeep of the links.
Although Tom had only been away fourteen years, great changes had taken place to the course he knew so well. The number of golfers had increased significantly and Tom set about further widening of the fairways and, laterally, creating sets of new tees to preserve the greens. The first hole at St Andrews is now reputed to be the widest fairway in golf. When land was reclaimed between the current 18th fairway and the Tay Estuary, Tom built the existing first green across the Swilcan Burn, and enlarged the 18th green to include today’s ‘Sunday’ pin position and the Valley of Sin. Ten years earlier, in 1854, it is recorded that there was only one hole for the outgoing and the incoming players. One couple had to give precedence to the other if nearer the hole. There were probably rows about who had the honour to hole out first. He split the 1st and 17th green, allowing the previously clockwise links to be played from the opposite direction, no doubt a controversial change that became permanent after many years of alternating play. Once a year, that clockwise layout is still played over the original Old Course.
Tom was an early agronomist, and was (perhaps) the instigator of asking golfers to replace their divots. Weeding, rolling and sanding transformed the course’s greens, all of which are still played upon today. It should be noted that Tom didn't design the Old Course at St Andrews; some believe golf was played on this site in the 12th century, yet the shaping of these historic links has been catalytic in transforming golf course design ever since. Before he left for Prestwick Tom learned course layout and strategy from his mentor, Allan Robertson, watching him doubling the width of the shared Old Course fairways in 1848, a move that lay the foundation for strategic design as it allowed golfers to take longer routes around hazards or continue with a direct but dangerous passage to the target. Amongst the hazards can be found 112 bunkers on the St Andrews Old Course, each of which Tiger Woods managed to avoid completely in all four rounds of his 2000 Championship win. These bunkers were nurtured and managed by Tom, and are now as world- famous as the course itself: Hell, Road, The Coffins and Deacon Sime to name some of the more well- known card-wreckers. St Andrews is not unique in naming its bunkers, but each has its story of a famous golfer who has buried his Championship score in its sand.
The real joy of playing the Old Course is the ability to step back in time with a ball and a club, walking the same seemingly expansive fairways and greens that Tom and his golfing friends enjoyed and played long matches over. When you have the opportunity to play across its humps and hollows, you’ll find that the ideal routes to every hole are, in reality, quite narrow. The challenge is as much about your strategic management of the course as your ability to concentrate on swinging smoothly when you stand on the 1st tee... or the 17th... or the 18th... or the 14th...